SACS reaffirmation moves toward completion

Posted on November 8, 2011

Erskine President Dr. David Norman addresses students in front of Euphemian Hall.

Last week, the off-site committee of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) completed its review of Erskine’s Compliance Certification documentation, marking another significant step toward the reaffirmation of the institution’s accreditation, Interim Vice President and Dean of the College Dr. Brad Christie has announced.

Compiling the documentation is a lengthy process, involving dozens of faculty and staff members, many working over the course of a year or more. The Compliance Certification documents were submitted in mid-September.

“We should be hearing from the off-site committee in the next few weeks,” Christie said.

He also announced to the faculty that on the day the SACS committee was completing its review, Instructor of Secondary Education Todd Bruce, who served as coordinator for compiling and submitting the documentation, successfully defended his dissertation for a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Clemson University.

“Todd Bruce did a phenomenal job getting that report together, editing it, and relaying it to SACS in good time,” Christie said.

Bruce, in turn, gave credit to his colleagues. “Writing the Compliance Certification for SACS was certainly a team effort, and I’m very proud of the work that so many people did, at both the college and seminary, to get a quality report to the off-site committee on time,” he said.

“I won’t deny that I felt like a juggler trying to coordinate the compliance review while teaching and finishing my dissertation this semester, but I’m happy that we’ve gotten through most of the major hurdles now.”

The process of reaffirmation takes about two years from start to finish and occurs every 10 years. The next step for Erskine will be an on-site review scheduled for March 2012.

Erskine has made the narratives from its SACS Compliance Certification available here.